Students create stunning new art for Dere Street Barristers Published on: 25 May 2018 The spirt of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s iconic River Tyne has inspired striking new art for an historic building on the city’s beautiful Quayside. Impressive backdrop Dere Street Barristers wanted artworks for its new arbitration, mediation and conferencing suite in its Chambers at Broad Chare, near the beautiful river. The firm approached Â鶹´«Ã½’s highly rated Fine Art Department for help late last year. They wanted pieces which captured ‘The Spirit of the Tyne’ and which would provide an impressive backdrop in the new suite. After a competitive selection process, a panel of staff and barristers from the chambers awarded the commission to Jack Whitwell, Oliver Hoffmeister and Harry Pickup, who are all studying for degrees in fine art. Crispin Oliver, Barrister, who chaired the selection panel said: “It has been a real inspiration to see how these young artists have taken the brief we provided and projected their thoughts and feelings into it. The quality of the works is obvious, but the X-factor, if you like, has been the sheer imagination they have brought to it, combined with the techniques they have used.” Harry Pickup with some of the artworks he made for Dere Street Barristers A great experience Harry Pickup has produced a series of four prints using a combination of laser technology and 19th century printing techniques. “For the Dere Street commission I have created a series of four woodcuts that depict the various colours seen throughout the day on the River Tyne - morning, midday, evening and night,” he said. “It has been a great experience to work with Dere Street as it has given me the opportunity to exhibit my prints in a permanent location and to introduce my work to a new audience.” Oliver Hoffmeister has produced a large oil on canvass, in monochrome, of a detail during the construction of the Tyne Bridge. He said: “The opportunity to further my practice, within a professional setting, outside of the university sphere, has given me a great amount of confidence going forward into the immediate future.” Jack Whitwell has produced four large prints from copper plate etchings using a technique and materials of his own invention based upon technology - known as photogravure -originally invented by Joseph Swann, the celebrated 19th century Â鶹´«Ã½ industrialist and inventor. LifeWorkArt David Butler, a senior lecturer in the University’s Fine Art department and coordinator of the LifeWorkArt professional programme which builds students’ experience and abilities in preparation for graduation, added: “This is a great opportunity for these artists right at the point of their graduation. It reflects the value the University places on partnerships like this.” A presentation was held at Dere Street Chambers oearleir this month with the works of art as the centrepiece of the occasion. Spirit of the TyneHarry Pickup's artworks show the different colours of the river throughout the day Spirit of the TyneOliver Hoffmeister's work shows a detail from the construction of the Tyne Bridge Spirit of the TyneOne of Jack Whitwell's photogravure prints Spirit of the TyneOne of Jack Whitwell's photogravure prints Spirit of the TyneOne of Jack Whitwell's photogravure prints Spirit of the TyneOne of Jack Whitwell's photogravure prints Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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